There are plenty of alternatives to using Vine. This includes uploading to YouTube, Vimeo, or directly to Facebook. Animated GIFs provide another option for showing a short clip over and over.

Basically, Vine was doomed from the start and shouldn’t be a part of your digital marketing plan next year – especially considering all the other options at your disposal.

#2 – Directing Traffic to Your Homepage

Every piece of content or advertisement used in a marketing campaign should have one specific goal. This is generally to get visitors to click on a link and arrive at a landing page.

If you’re concluding emails and ads with links to your homepage, your content and ads don’t have any real focus.

There really is no point in providing the URL to your homepage, except when registering a service or setting up an account. If you’re providing a URL, it should be directed to a page or marketing content with a clear message.

Also, if visitors are interested in browsing your site, they’ll do so on their own. They shouldn’t need help finding the homepage from any page on your site – if you’re offering a good user experience.

So, there’s never a need to direct traffic to your homepage.

The best marketing strategy is to give each piece of content or ad a specific focus and goal – that’s your call to action and it should lead to a landing page or other marketing material with a niche focus.

#3 – Outsourcing Content Creation

You can also expect a decrease in outsourced content this coming year. Businesses are beginning to notice the importance of delivering personalized content to their audience.

This requires the use of writers and marketers with intimate knowledge of the business. An in-house team can be trained to generate content that is consistent with the brand’s image.

For several years, the quality of content rivals the importance of quantity. Businesses will start to scale back the outsourcing of content to focus on individualized content that directly appeals to their core audience.

#4 – Content Without Any Strategy

Along the same lines as the previous strategy, you can no longer just create massive amounts of content without a target audience or a specific goal. This doesn’t have the same advantages as it did several years back.

So, along with personalized content that directly reflects the business, there will be a need for each piece of content to have a strategy.

Every article, advertisement, or video will need to focus on a specific age range, region, and the buying habits of the target audience.

The use of buyer personas can assist with this process. For those unfamiliar with the term, buyer personas are simply descriptions of an ideal customer.

You fill out all the details of the customer, from where they live to their income level. You add their interests, hobbies, and more info until you begin to see this persona as a real person. Then, content is created as if speaking directly to this person.

#5 – Blog Posts About Your Business

The average consumer doesn’t care about what happens behind the scenes at their favorite business.

When the concept of business blogs was new, it was common for you to see posts about the office getting a new copier or photos of Christmas parties.

These are self-absorbed posts that should be restricted to a company-wide intranet or employee portal.

Businesses should know better by now, so 2017 is the year to stop the practice of creating blog posts about a business.

The same applies to social media posts. Before hitting the submit button on a post, tweet, or blog article, you should ask, “does this benefit my visitors?” If the answer is no – don’t post.

The majority of your content should be educational in some way.

#6 – Large Banner Ads

Using large banner ads is another strategy that is past its expiration date. This goes back to the early days of the internet.

As with video content, businesses didn’t know how to use the technology at their disposal.

Marketers would create large advertisements to attract attention. But, as time passed, internet users began to find these ads more annoying rather than helpful.

There are much better options available now that result in higher conversion rates. This includes the use of rich media in display ads.

You also have Facebook ads, Instagram ads, and other paid advertisements that can easily replace the need for larger banner ads for display networks.

A lot of marketers are still holding onto techniques and strategies that they’ve used for the past decade. Obviously, some of these strategies no longer apply.

The 6 strategies discussed are not the only outdated tactics being used today. It’s important for businesses to regularly conduct audits. This helps evaluate the effectiveness of each campaign and the strategies in use.

As the new year begins, it’s a great time to begin taking a hard look at the strategies in play. It’s time to assess the state of the business and look for opportunities for growth.

Removing digital marketing strategies that no longer benefit the business can help make room for more efficient strategies. So, in the end, trim the fat by getting rid of outdated tactics.

Los is the CMO of Hype Media, a full service digital creative agency with proven expertise in building seven and eight-figure brands through lightning-fast customer acquisition via Social Influence, Paid Advertising, Direct Response, and Sales Funnel Optimization.
He’s also Managing partner at The Collective – a consulting and incubation shop working with retailers and influencers to scale new brands and sales channels.When he's not working he's at the gym or eating tacos at his favorite spot in Orlando!